[2][3] Besides being the last remaining structure of the original U.S. military installation and one of the oldest buildings in central Arkansas, it was also the birthplace of General Douglas MacArthur, who became the supreme commander of U.S. forces in the South Pacific during World War II.

[5] In 1942, the Tower Building was renovated due to the efforts of the Æsthetic Club, Little Rock philanthropist Frederick W. Allsop, and the Works Progress Administration.

The new museum's goal is to educate and inform visitors about the military history of Arkansas, preserve the Tower Building, honor servicemen and servicewomen of the United States and commemorate the birthplace of Douglas MacArthur.

But in November 1860, with the American Civil War on the horizon, a company of the Second United States Artillery, consisting of sixty-five men, was transferred to Little Rock under the command of Captain James Totten.

On January 28, then Governor Henry M. Rector informed Captain Totten that he and his soldiers would be "permitted to remain in the possession of the Federal officers until the State, by authority of the people, shall have determined to sever their connection with the General Government," Totten responded to this by telling the Governor that his orders came from the United States Government and began a desperate but ultimately futile dispatch of letters and telegrams asking for reinforcements, although rumors were widely spread that they were already coming.

The arsenal is one of the richest depositories of military stores in the United States and is supposed to be the ultimate destination of the tropps[sic]ordered from the frontier.

Faced with the fact that the military had assembled believing they were following his orders and the consensus of the citizens of Little Rock against any armed conflict between the civilian army and federal troops, Governor Rector was forced to take control of the situation.

Inside the Little Rock Arsenal after its seizure in February, 1861, the Confederates inventoried some 10,247 weapons, 250,000 musket cartridges, and 520,000 percussion caps, as well as the four bronze cannon of Totten's battery.

Disposition of the weapons found in the Arsenal is somewhat sketchy, but from various records it can be surmised that the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Arkansas Infantry Regiments, mustered in June, 1861, were issued M1816/M1822 .69 caliber flintlocks.

The units comprising the infantry force of Van Dorn's Army of the West were the 1st and 2nd Arkansas Mounted Rifles were also armed with M1822 flintlocks from the Little Rock Arsenal.

Most of the equipment, arms, and machinery at the Little Rock Arsenal was removed to east of the Mississippi River by order of Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn in April and May 1862, and accountability for it is lost at that point.

Hindman established another armory at Arkadelphia, and revived the Little Rock Arsenal as a collection point and depot for armaments and ammunition manufacture for small arms.

Lead mines were opened and worked, and a chemical laboratory was established and successfully operated in aid of the Ordnance Department and in the manufacture of calomel, castor oil, spirits of nitre, the various tinctures of iron, and other valuable medicines.

Gunsmiths were employed or conscripted, tools purchased or impressed, and the repair of the damaged guns I brought with me and about an equal number found at Little Rock commenced at once.

But, after inspecting the work and observing the spirit of the men I decided that a garrison 500 strong could hold out against Fitch and that I would lead the remainder - about 1500 - to Gen'l Rust as soon as shotguns and rifles could be obtained from Little Rock instead of pikes and lances, with which most of them were armed.

In addition to these, he had 20 enlisted men and a civilian force composed of a foreman, 2 clerks, 3 gunsmiths for repairing small arms, a laboratorian, 26 laborers in the ammunition laboratory, and a carpenter for making packing boxes.

During the month of August, 1862, the following work was performed: "Fabricated: one pair of musket bullet moulds; 10,000 buck & ball shot cartridges; repaired: 750 muskets, shotguns, and rifles; received and repaired: ordnance stores and ordnances; performed: guard, office, and police duties; inspected: Posts at Camden and Arkadelphia."

Lt. Col. Dunnington continued to build up his works at Little Rock until November 1862, when Captain Sanford C. Faulkner (composer of The Arkansas Traveler) was placed in charge of the Arsenal.

Appended to the "Summary" for August, 1863 is the ominous notation, "During the last week in the month, nearly all stores at the Arsenal have been packed and sent to Arkadelphia, in obedience to orders from Chief of Ordnance, District of Arkansas."

This then marks the beginning of the evacuation of ordnance activities from Little Rock, with the city being surrendered to the advancing Federal troops of Frederick Steele's Arkansas Expedition on September 11, 1863.

Prior to renovation, a rear basement door provided the only entrance, while the tower served as a hoist to move munitions between floors.

By 1868, front and rear porches had been added to the building, as well as interior walls and stairs, some of which remain today, including the central staircase.

The previous year, club members working with women's organizations throughout the state, raised money to furnish the Arkansas Building of the Columbian Exposition at The Chicago World's Fair.

At the fair's conclusion, artifacts from the exhibit were displayed in the Tower Building, with the Æsthetic Club invited to meet in the "Columbian Room.

"[12] Except for Æsthetic Club meetings, the Tower Building remained largely unoccupied for almost fifty years and suffered significant deterioration.

[14] It is operated by the Little Rock Department of Parks and Recreation and tells the stories of Arkansas' soldiers from the Civil War through Vietnam via artifacts, photographs, weapons and other ephemera.